Amritsar-Amritsar witnessed a complete ‘bandh’ till 5pm on Tuesday after Sikh hardliners called for a shutdown to pay homage to those who died during Operation Bluestar in 1984.

Dal Khalsa thanks people for bandh

The bandh call was meant as a protest against the killings of hundreds of innocent pilgrims; the alleged loot of invaluable holy books, besides paying tributes to all those killed by the security forces, inside the Golden Temple in June 1984.”

The bandh threw life out of gear; barring medical services, the entire city wore a deserted look. Even street vendors did not set up their business.

Sikh radical outfit Dal Khalsa called for the strike which was also observed by residents on the 33rd anniversary of Operation Bluestar.

Police kept vigil on all the popular areas of the city, including Lawrence road, Ranjit Avenue , Mall road , Maqbool road and Queens road. The officials deployed on crossings and inside the market made sure that forcible shutdowns were not done. Police also kept a check on vehicles plying on the roads.

Even near Golden Temple, the entire walled city and commercial hub of the hall gate were also closed completely. Though there was a lot of security deployment in the streets and bazaars, people still kept the establishments closed out of fear.

Even the prominent banks in the city (both private and public sector) were seen operating with their shutters down, leading to low public dealing. Malls were also closed till 4.00pm.

Dal Khalsa thanked people for observing a complete bandh. Their spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh Bittu said, “The bandh call was given to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of Operation Bluestar and we are thankful to residents of the city that they respected the sentiment and opted to shut almost every commercial establishment.”He also said no forcible closure was done by their activists and people voluntarily closed their establishments.

He added, “The bandh call was meant as a protest against the killings of hundreds of innocent pilgrims; the alleged loot of invaluable holy books, manuscripts and artefacts from the Sikh Reference Library; and to recall and relive the pain and agony of the attack, besides paying tributes to all those killed by the security forces, inside the Golden Temple in June 1984.”